The Key to Everything
by DarKazeura
Summary: Some things just don't stay dead. Living in Sunnydale, Dawn accepted this as the truth. Unfortunately, it isn't till she leaves Sunnydale that she truly understands the meaning behind the words. Some things just don't stay dead. She's one of those things
1. Where do we go from here?

Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

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Chapter One.

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"_Where do we go, from here?"_

Dawn sang softly to herself. Her eyes stayed locked on the small airplane window, or perhaps a better way of wording, would be that her eyes were locked on what she saw through the window. Through the window, far below, lay the country of her birth. A place she had been forced to abandon nearly ten years before, a place that she was only just now being forced to return.

"_Where do we go, from here?"_

It had been a grueling decade, both mentally, and physically. And she returned a very different person. A person she wasn't even sure if she recognized. She wasn't sure she was someone she even wanted to recognize. The fact that she wasn't useless this time around did little to settle her nerves.

"_The battles' done, and we kinda won…"_

She knew that Buffy was still alive, but she wondered if all the others were still alive too. She wondered if they missed her, or even remembered the scrawny fifteen year old girl who had always gotten in their way. When she had run away, she had just been a scared kid who hadn't wanted to be a burden anymore. Of course, while her reason for running away might not have been sound, her reason for staying away was.

"_So we sound our victory cheer…"_

She had been fifteen, and her sister had just come back from the dead. Buffy had always been her hero, the one person she knew she could count on. It hadn't been that way when Buffy had come back. Buffy had been in deaths shadow, and instead of fighting it, she had embraced it, welcomed it. Buffy hadn't wanted to stay with her, so she had made it easy on the slayer, and had left.

"_Where do we go, from here?"_

That's what made it so hard for her to return now. She had left for such selfish, _childish_, reasons. She had been too young to realize the implications of what her sister had meant when she had said she was pulled from heaven into hell. Like all teens, Dawn had figured the world had revolved around herself, and that Buffy had meant that she had been pulled out of heaven, and was in hell, because she had had to put up with her whiny little sister.

"_Why is the path unclear?"_

Of course, that had nothing to do with why she had stayed away. No, the reason she had stayed gone, is because after three years of living off the streets, trying to survive, it had been in her attempt to go home that everything had fallen apart. Instead of going home, she had gotten involved in something so far beyond her, that even now, ten years later, she was still reeling.

"_When we know home is near…"_

Dawn, when she had run away, had found out what it was like to truly live. She had learned what it was like to have to fight for every meal. What it was like to have no place to sleep, no place to be safe, no one to protect her. She garnered that that was what Buffy felt like all the time and she finally began to understand.

"_Understand we'll go hand in hand,"_

She found it ironic that she had done fine on her own for three years. She had survived, and in a way, thrived. And then, when she had finally been brave enough to get on a bus to return home, it killed her.

"_But we'll walk alone in fear."_

She remembered waking up for the first time. She remembered panicking. The claustrophobia of being stuck in a tight, breakthrough black bag that was almost impossible to unzip from the inside. It had taken her a little over an hour to get out of the bag, only for her to realize with an almost horrified fascination, that she was locked away in a tiny metal box. It was then that the smell hit her and she realized that she was in a morgue.

"_Tell me, where do we go from here?"_

She had been eighteen when she died. Eighteen years old, ten years ago, and she hadn't aged a day. She never would. So that was why she had stayed away. Her sister walked in deaths shadow, yet Dawn would never die. It wasn't fair.

"_When does the end appear…?"_

She had spent the last three years traveling Europe under the assumed name of Marie Winters. And the previous seven in Paris learning from the man who had found her in Washington shortly after her first death. Unfortunately, due to the age she had been at death, she would never be able to stay in one place for more than ten years, as there was no way she could make herself look believably more than late twenties, and even that was pushing it.

"_When do the trumpets cheer?"_

Duncan had taught her so much, and she would be forever indebted to the older man. It had helped enormously that he was aware of her world. She had told him everything that there was to tell, about her life, where she came from, why she left. She hoped that he would understand her reasons behind returning. Though, it wasn't as if she really had that much of a choice.

"_The curtains close on a kiss god knows…"_

Dawn had never planned on returning to Sunnydale. She hadn't even been planning on returning to America until long after everyone she had known was dead. That had changed, when two weeks prior; she had been working on translating an ancient Sumerian passage for Duncan's friend Joe, when a man named Whistler had appeared in the middle of her hotel living room.

"_We can tell the end is near."_

He had told her that a being known only as The First, had gained a foothold in their world, and was doing everything in its power to wipe out the Slayer Line. Potential Slayers from all over the world were gathering in Sunnydale, and her sister, the thirty three year old Slayer, was the only hope for humanity.

That in itself was nothing new, as the Slayer was _always_ the protector, but this time it was different, because Buffy wasn't only the Slayer, she was the Key as well. Dawn may have been created as a host for the power of the key, but she had only been the delivery system. Buffy was the one with the power. It was in the blood, and Buffy's blood would always hold more power than Dawns.

That needed to change. The First could take the faces of the dead. It could access their memories, and any latent abilities. That was how it had gained the foothold in this dimension in the first place. When Buffy had died, the First had taken her form, and had been able to use a fraction of the keys power to come forth. Now, all it needed was Buffy to die permanently so that the power of the key would be it's completely, and then it would be able to bring its corporeal body over.

If that happened, it would destroy everything.

That was where Dawn came in. Like all Immortals, she was a foundling. She wasn't born, she was created. Unlike all immortals, she shared blood and DNA with one other. She had family. What she needed to do was a ritual that would transfer the power of the key back into her body where it had originated. And hopefully not kill Buffy in the process.

Because while The First would still have a foothold in this dimension, because Dawn too had died. Unlike Buffy, Dawn would never stay dead. Though on the off chance that her head was taken, all power went to the one who took it, so The First would never get the power anyway. Of course, if Dawn had to, she would spend the rest of her existence on Holy Ground. It was better to be safe then sorry.

"…off all electronics and fasten your seat-belts. I repeat, we are on time, and will be landing shortly. Please turn off all electronics and fasten your seat-belts. Thank you for flying with Pacific Airlines."

The message repeated in a multitude of different languages, all of which Dawn understood as well as if it had been in English. Dawn sighed and looked back out the window. She really wished that she was still in Rome.

"_Where do we go from here?"_

The plane landed.


	2. Flash to the past

Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander nor Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Chapter Two.

The young man who had been sitting in front of her during the flight smiled and pulled her carry on out of the top rack for her, "Here,"

"Thank you." Dawn said gratefully as she hoisted the duffle over her shoulder. She smiled at the man while inwardly berating herself. Already, her mind was coming up with plans of befriending him so as to stall the inevitable return to Sunnydale.

"I'm Mike." He threw over his shoulder as he started to shuffle along the line of people making their way off the plane.

"Marie." Dawn replied back.

They walked side by side through the airport terminal, and Dawn found herself looking at him through the corner of her eye. She wondered what he would do if he knew he was walking next to a murderer. What he would do if he knew that everything about her was essentially a lie? She was shaken out of her bitter thoughts when she realized that the young man was speaking.

"..eard you singing. You have a nice voice. I can't quite place your accent though…"

"I'm from Paris, originally. But I'm a linguist, and I've spent most of my life traveling Europe, because of that, I often unintentionally pick up a multitude of different accents. My teacher often says I should go into voice acting, or something, if the linguistics thing doesn't work out, but personally, I'm skeptical."

Wow, she was babbling and it wasn't even noon yet.

"That's very charming." Mike commented flirtatiously.

Dawn heaved a silent sigh of relief that she hadn't chased him away. What was it about coming back to America that had her feeling like the babbling, annoying, teen that she had been all those years ago?

"What about you, Mike? Where do you hail from?"

"T'was born in England, but moved to Rome before I could even walk."

"What brings you to LA?"

Mike laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that had heat rising to Dawn's cheeks, though she managed to hide it, and even make it look natural that she moved over to a large window they had been about to pass. "Work, actually."

Dawn realized belatedly that Mike was standing just beyond the window, out of touching distance of the warm rays of sunlight that were beginning to creep up from the rising sun outside. Dawn's hand inched to her hip where her sword was sheathed, hidden by her black leather trench coat that was so much like the one her babysitter used to wear. It had been a bitch casting the spell to make the sword unnoticeable by all people and the metal detectors, but she was glad now that she had kept it with her instead of checking it.

"Oh? What do you do?" She asked pleasantly. Perhaps too pleasantly to be believed if the dark look that flashed over his face was anything to go by.

"I'm getting in on the fast food business."

"Ahh." Dawn murmured. Her eyes cast about, but she realized quickly that they were very alone.

Had she really been talking to this guy for the last fifteen minutes, without noticing that he was a Vampire? She had taken the earliest flight available, so that even with the two hour drive to Sunnydale, it would still be daylight when she arrived. It hadn't even occurred to her that the Vampires of the world would also take night flights.

The sun went behind a cloud.

Mike wasn't surprised that Dawn was too stunned to move when he rushed her. He was surprised however to be decapitated in one smooth movement before he had even reached her. Dawn just groaned and re-sheathed her sword.

"Oh yeah. Definitely back in America."

She hefted her duffel over her shoulder once more and walked sophisticatedly out of the terminal, or as sophisticatedly as she could with a mouthful of ash. She had forgotten not to breathe in.

She gave a bemused sigh as she haled a taxi just outside the airport. A little ash wouldn't kill her. But then really, there wasn't much that could.

"Where ya going, darling?"

"The nearest car rental place, if you will."

The Taxi driver laughed pleasantly, "Any specifics?"

Dawn shook her head, "No. As long as it gets me from point A to point B, it'll do fine."

"Where ya headin?"

"Sunnydale."

The car screeched to a halt and Dawn found herself standing on the blacktop with her duffel thrown into her hands before the car disappeared. "Huh. Well, that _is_ new."

The cell phone in her pocket began playing a catchy tune, so Dawn pulled it out and flipped it open, "Marie speaking."

"_Hey May."_

Dawn flinched but continued walking down the sidewalk, "Amanda. How'd you get this number?"

"_You make it sound as though you're upset to hear from me…"_

"You shot me." Dawn reminded warily.

"_You were being stubborn."_

Dawn felt entitled to the annoyance she felt and had to resist the urge to pull her sword out when a rude business man bumped into her. Instead she just glared and discreetly pocketed the over stuffed wallet she had just acquired. "You also robbed me." She reminded.

"_You were being boring."_

"I was working. You know, that thing us people trying to make an honest living do?" Dawn sidestepped a woman talking a mile a minute on her cell phone and barely managed to avoid a collision with a teen on roller-blades. She pulled the phone away from her ear, "Hey, watch it!"

"…_re you?"_

"Huh?" Dawn asked, "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"_Where are you?"_

Now that was the million dollar question, wasn't it? It was also the one Dawn least wanted to answer; unfortunately, Amanda could read her like a book, even just by her voice. She supposed that the professional thief had to know how to read people to be so good at her job, but it was still annoying.

"LA."

"_Isn't that where-"_

"I have to. Something came up."

"_Marie…"_

Amanda never called her by her name. It was always May, or Language-girl. She also rarely sounded serious. That meant that the much older woman was worried. Dawn replied, "It's something only I can do. I'll be fine, besides, Sunnydale has so many churches and graveyards; it's practically _made_ of Holy Ground."

"_I'm on my way."_

Dawn had to bite her tongue to keep from shouting yes. Instead she swallowed thickly and shook her head, even if rationally she knew Amanda couldn't see the motion, "no. I have to do this on my own. I've been gone for thirteen years. A part of me always knew I'd have to face them eventually. If you want, I'll tell Anya you say Hi. I think she's still alive…"

"_Be careful, May. Don't make tell MacLeod where you are."_

Dawn recoiled slightly at the threat. Duncan would _kill_ her! Okay, sure, it wouldn't stick, but still. She hated dying almost more than she hated being treated like a kid.

"I'll be careful." She assured quickly. "Though, I don't think you have a right to order me to do anything. You _shot_ _me_, remember?"

"_Ah, semantics."_

Dawn could almost see the blond wave her hand carelessly and she fought back a smile. She may have still been angry at the thief for _shooting her_, but it was hard not to forgive Amanda. Dawn sidestepped another business man, and ran straight into the broad chest of another.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She said honestly when she realized that she had caused his briefcase to spill open. "Hey, Amanda, I have to go." She hung up her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

It was then that she recognized the man, and her heart leapt into her throat, "Charles?"

He was a lawyer for Wolfram and Hart. She had worked for them on multiple cases, doing translations for ancient demon texts. It didn't bother her much that he worked for a notoriously evil company. She wasn't really one to judge, what with the fact that she often played a _game_ that involved chopping off other people's heads.

He looked up, "Marie?"

They had also dated for a year and a half.

"Here, let me help you." She bent down and helped him place the rest of his papers back into his briefcase.

"What are you doing in LA?"

Dawn gestured with her chin to the bag over her shoulder, "Just passing through, actually. I have a job in a nearby town."

"A nearby town? You're not going to Sunnydale, are you?"

Dawn visibly shook her head and sighed, "Geese, what's with people? I mean, sure, it is on a Hellmouth—"

"You know it's a Hellmouth and you're still going?"

"Yes, Charles." She replied exasperatedly, "That's precisely _why_ I'm going. There's some heavy stuff going down there, and I need to do something there before the shit hits the fan, so to speak. Something I should have for all purposes, done years ago, but I hadn't realized the situation had gotten so dire."

"I tried to call you." He said suddenly.

Dawn flinched. That had been why they had broken up in the first place, the long distance thing just hadn't worked out, and he had often gotten so caught up in whatever case he was working that he wouldn't take her calls. Or call her.

"I lost my phone." She lied.

She hadn't lost her cell; she had thrown it off the balcony of the fourteenth floor apartment she had been renting at the time. She had been furious that he hadn't called her back when she had left him a message saying it was urgent she talked to him.

"And you moved." He added, somewhat accusingly.

"Had a new job." She replied flippantly. "Moved to Tallin."

"Estonia?" Charles asked, "You moved to Estonia? From Athens?"

"Had a job." Dawn repeated. She glared slightly, "Look Charles, I have to go. I want to get to Sunnydale while there are still a lot of hours left in the day."

Dawn inwardly cursed herself for the lame excuse. It wasn't even seven AM, and it only took two hours to get to Sunnydale from here. She began to walk away when a strong hand gripped her forearm, "Wait, Marie…"

She turned to face him again and spontaneously shot him a mega watt smile. "Would you like to go for coffee?"

She had been looking for an excuse since before she even got on the plane to hold off going back to Sunnydale. The perfect excuse stood right in front of her. It was a win-win situation; also, as much as she would venomously deny it, she had missed him.

"Sure. I just have to drop something off at work; it's only a block or so away from here." Charles said with a smile. He wasn't even phased anymore by her sudden mood changes.

"Sure. Hey, do you know any good car rental places around here?"

"I still don't understand your aversion to meeting my boss." Charles said a good hour later between bites of his pancake. When he had found out that she hadn't eaten yet, he had demanded that he treat her to some good American food.

Dawn inwardly flinched, though it didn't show on her face at all. This was a subject that had been breached multiple times. It always made her uncomfortable, and she always changed the subject. This time, she decided, she would give as close to the truth as she was able.

"Angelus killed someone I was quite close to. I know intellectually that Angel and Angelus are two different people, but seeing him, or him seeing me, would not end well."

"You two have met?" Charles asked, genuinely shocked.

"We have. Years ago."

Charles knew she was immortal, but he didn't know how old she was, or _wasn't_ as the case was currently, so she would let him choose his own meaning from her words. That way, she wasn't lying.

Also, Dawn had never been a fan of Angel; he had made her sister cry more often than her destiny ever had. Moreover, he _had_ killed someone she was close to, or at least someone she remembered being close to. It was still strange to her, even years later, to know that her memories before age thirteen were fabricated. This meant that technically, she had never even met Angel, _or_ Jenny Calendar.

"You never said anything."

"I didn't want to. I wanted the past to stay in the past. Unfortunately, lately, it seems to be catching up with me more often than not."

"Sorry."

"No, oh, Charles, I didn't mean you. Although, you did catch up with me quite well."

"If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who ran into _me_."

Dawn smiled around her fork and put it back down on the table, "In my defense, this city is over populated, and the sidewalks are hardly big enough for all the people to walk comfortably. Though, it is rather curious that of all the people I would run into, I run into the one American I know. Are you perhaps, stalking me, Mr. Gunn?"

"Hey, hey. None of that. You're the one who came to my country, and paradoxically ran into me. Maybe it's _you_ who is stalking _me_?"

Dawn looked down at her pancakes and twirled a piece through the syrup with her fork. She had so missed the banter that came so easy the two of them. She had also missed him; he was everything she wanted in a guy. He was handsome, intelligent, knew about her immortality _and_ accepted it, and he understood the darker parts of the world. The only thing that hurt was that she knew, and had thought she had accepted… he was going to grow old and die, and she wasn't.

"Marie?"

"Sorry, Charles, got lost in thought." Dawn smiled fleetingly, "I should really go soon. I have a lot to do today. I'm planning on buying a house and putting up some protections, as there is no way I would trust a hotel in Sunnydale of all places."

"What's your number?" Charles asked. He was visibly grasping at straws, trying to find some way to keep her to stay in touch. He hated that she was able to disappear so completely when she didn't want to be found, though he supposed she had had lots of practice in her many years.

Dawn pulled a pen out of her bag and wrote her common cell number down on the paper napkin next to her now empty plate. She had two cell phones on her at all time, but one was only for work. In the last six years, even while Duncan had been training her in the dance of sword fighting, Dawn had made quite the name for herself as a prodigy linguist.

It had been by complete accident that she had even discovered her talent with languages. She had been in Duncan's study, waiting for him to get home from a date with Amanda, and in her boredom she had picked up a book on his desk and started to read. It wasn't until half way through the book that she had realized that it was in Gaelic, a language that to her knowledge, she had never even _heard_ before.

They still weren't sure, but Duncan and she theorized that her knowledge had something to do with the fact that at one time, she had been the key, completely. A ball of energy centuries old. There was no way for them to know completely though.

"Will you actually call this time?" She asked softly with her eyes locked on the tabletop before her.

"I will. Marie, I didn't mean to ignore you. I was caught up in something, and was quite over my head. Apparently, the gift of Law that I had been given, hadn't been permanent. It took me a while to figure out how to get it back, as the price was too high. Your last message, you had said you needed me to call you and that it was urgent…"

"An ancient demon that went by the name of Ahriman surfaced. He caught my teacher in an illusion, and he ended up taking Richie's head." Dawn replied stiffly.

Richie had been a great friend, and he had been only a little older than she herself was. Unfortunately, the event had made Duncan not only extremely depressed, but after he had come out of his year of solitude, he had been almost as overprotective as Buffy had once been. Apparently, he didn't think he could stand to lose another student.

It hadn't helped that for a few years she had been pretty careless. She had grown incredibly disillusioned with life, and had lived only for the game. She hadn't said no to a single challenge, and had ended up as quite the known headhunter. Unfortunately, she made a lot of enemies in that time.

"Damn, Marie, I'm so sorry." Charles said sincerely. He reached one of his big hands across the table and rest it over top her own much smaller hands.

"I got… I got a little careless, for a while." She admitted, "I became a headhunter, and will now be avoiding returning to Asia for as many years as I can manage."

"Are you okay though? I mean, I know it's been almost two years, but-"

"I'm okay." Dawn replied honestly. "Duncan took me in for a while, and I guess, grieving together, took the strain off slightly. I mean, I know I haven't been his student for years, and had in all truth lost contact with him, but it was nice to rekindle our friendship. Especially as it's on a more equal ground now. Though, after—after Richie, Duncan's a little… overprotective."

"I'm sorry." Charles repeated.

Dawn's cell phone rang and she held up a finger before pulling it out of her pocket, "Marie here."

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

Dawn winced and inwardly began cursing Amanda for all she was worth, "Duncan, I'm on a job. It's something I _have_ to do. Something only I can do."

"_The Hellmouth is one of the worst possible places for you—or any immortal to be! You know that."_

"It's okay Duncan. I can take care of myself. I know the risks, and I have a map of where all the churches and graveyards are located. I also know the rules. Don't worry." Dawn rolled her eyes and smiled as Charles smothered a laugh with a cough across the table.

"_I am on my way."_

"You know, Amanda said the same thing. I told her no too. Seriously Duncan, it's bad enough for me to be there. It would be worse if you were there too. Really though, I'll be alright. I've kept my head this long, have I not?"

Over the line he sighed deeply, _"Call me twice a day. When you wake up, and when you go to sleep. You miss a single call, and I'll be on the next flight out."_

"Deal."

"_Keep your phone charged."_

Dawn scowled at the blatant reminder. It wasn't her fault that she always forgot to charge her phone. "I will." She promised.

"_Be safe, Dawn."_

"I will. I have to go though, I'm in the middle of breakfast with Charles."

"_Gunn?"_

"Yes, Duncan, Charles Gunn. We ran into each other this morning, shortly after I left the airport."

"_Literally, I assume."_

"Ha, ha, ha. Funny you."

"_Tell Charles I say hello."_

"I will. Bye Duncan."

"_Remember, two times a day."_

"Yeah, yeah. Bye." Dawn said hastily, she snapped the phone closed and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Overprotective?" Charles questioned, "I think that may be an understatement."

"You think?"

"What was that about it being bad for you to be there?" Charles asked. He then blushed slightly, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop-"

"No, it's alright. It was rude of me to take a call in the middle of our conversation. He's just concerned that I'll be challenged while on the Hellmouth."

"Are challenges different on the Hellmouth?"

"Not the challenge's themselves, no. It's the after effects. You've seen a quickening before, and I explained it to you, did I not?"

Charles nodded silently.

"On the Hellmouth, regardless of how pure a life the immortal lived, the quickening will be tainted with darkness. Dark Quickenings, unlike normal quickenings can have very adverse effects on the immortal's personality. Basically, the taint hits you extremely hard, and it has driven better immortals than me to go on mad killing sprees. That's why even if a Hellmouth is almost made up of holy ground due to the amount of churches and cemeteries there are, Immortals avoid the place like the plague."

"You'll be careful though, right?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Yes _Duncan_."

"Seriously, Marie. You're immortal, but you're not impervious."

"I know that." Dawn replied, "Trust me, I'm not about to put my life on the line for something stupid. This is something I have to do, and then, as soon as it's done, I'm getting the hell out of there."

Charles's own cell phone began to ring, he looked at the caller I.D, "It's Angel; I have to take this call."

Dawn smiled, "I really need to be going, anyway."

Charles stood as she did. He ignored the incessant ringing of his cell phone and pulled her into a tight embrace before she could walk past him. Dawn breathed in the scent that was so uniquely Charles, it was a mix of peppermint, steel, and a taint of something dark that Dawn assumed had something to do with him working for Wolfram and Hart. She wrapped her own arms around him tightly.

"I missed you." She murmured into his spiffy suit.

He rested his head on her shoulder, "I missed you too."

The phone stopped ringing, only to restart a second later.

"You should get that." Dawn whispered.

"Yeah, I should." Charles agreed, even though he didn't budge an inch.

Dawn felt him kiss the top of her head, and she forced herself to pull away. It was better for her to distance herself from him. His mortality was not hers to bear.

"I have to go." She smiled and rushed past him. At the door to the diner she paused and turned back, "Call me?"

"I will." Charles promised.

Dawn beamed at him and left the diner.

It was only quarter to twelve, huh, maybe she should go to the mall. Get a new wardrobe before going to Sunnydale? She shook her head at her own thoughts and walked determinedly in the direction of the nearest dealership. Over breakfast, she had decided that instead of renting a car, she would buy herself a motorcycle in memory of Richie.

She had enough money after all. Being friends with Amanda paid almost better than her job as a linguist. It also helped that the wallet she stole this morning was stuffed to the brim with hundred dollar bills.


	3. Still Alive

Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Chapter Three.

Dawn was glad that she had thought ahead and brought a couple changes of clothing, because due to a small crash on the way to Sunnydale, and a quick death, her shirt was irreparable. Her jeans were a little worse for wear too, but if she ignored the suspicious blood stain, they were still usable.

The crash itself hadn't been bad, she hadn't even damaged her new bike besides a small scratch on the left side, unfortunately, on being thrown from the bike, she was impaled on a tree branch. It had to be the most embarrassing death she had had yet.

Fortunately, the road to Sunnydale didn't seem to get much use, so in the hour or so that she was dead, no one had found her. Which was good, because then she would have had to kill them. There was no way in hell that Duncan or Amanda could ever know she had been impaled by a tree. She would never live it down.

Dawn shook herself out of her thoughts and continued pulling her new clean shirt over her head. Instead of the black sweater and light blue jeans she had been wearing before, she now wore a white lace tank top and darker blue jeans. She was just glad that she had put her trench coat into her bag, as it was her favorite, and she would have hated to lose it to a tree branch.

She picked her bike up off the road and hopped back on. This time, she would actually pay attention to the road and not get lost in thoughts of how much she wished she could have stayed in LA with Charles. Even if her thoughts were so much more yummy than her actual plans of painful family reunion.

"It's a good thing I'm almost there. The sun will be down in a few hours." She murmured to herself.

She revved the bike's engine and was off.

* * *

Sunnydale hadn't changed.

That was Dawn's first thought after she had set up her new apartment to her liking, meaning she had cast as many protection spells she knew and an anti-invite spell to nullify access to any vampires who may have been invited in the past.

It was followed quickly by, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, that's Xander.

Dawn ducked her head as she passed by him and prayed to every god and goddess she had heard of that he wouldn't recognize her, or even look at her. She wanted to get her bearings before she sought out the Scoobies. Her cell phone started to ring and she imagined herself throwing it into on coming traffic, only she didn't as that would probably draw even more attention to her.

"Marie here." She answered with a firm French accent. She continued walking in the direction of her bike, even though her heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel eyes on her and prayed that they didn't belong to the man she had had a childish crush on so many years ago.

"_Miss Winters?"_

She breathed out a sigh of relief at the voice and held the phone firmly to her ear, "Oh, Joe, it's lovely to hear from you. I was not expecting to hear from you for another day or so."

"_It's wonderful to hear from you too. Though pleasantries aside for the moment; I wondered how far you had gotten on the translation…?"_

"It's done." Dawn replied quickly, "I finished it yesterday morning; I just have not had the time to send it to you yet."

"Xander wait up a sec."

Dawn's heart leapt into her throat and she walked a little faster, "Anyhow, I'll have it to you by tonight, unless something interrupts my plans."

"_Wonderful. I hadn't expected you to be done for another week or so. You're usually so busy."_

"Yes well, something personal came up, so I'm on a bit of an… absent, from work. Of course, if you need anything, you know I'll always help you out. You're a friend, not a client."

Someone grabbed her arm from behind and Dawn swung around in shock. Damn, she was jumpy today.

"You left this on the table." The girl who had grabbed her arm said. She was a young girl, possibly around seventeen, with short red pixie-like hair. She was wearing a knitted sweater with a matching hat and light blue jeans. She looked completely harmless, and Dawn felt her heartbeat calm to a more reasonable pace when she realized that the teen was holding her purse.

"Thank you." Dawn threw the purse over her shoulder, "I had not even realized…" she admitted truthfully. She had been too concerned with leaving the coffee shop without being seen by Xander. Xander, who was standing right behind the redheaded teen, thankfully he was staring at something across the street.

"I thought that might be the case." The redhead proclaimed cheerfully.

"Well, uh, merci. I really must be going."

"Wait!" The girl cried out, "Um, your accent. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Non. I am e're to visit family." Dawn replied. Her French accent was getting thicker with her nervousness, and she was fighting every instinct telling her to run away as fast as she could. She had thought she could do this, oh how she was wrong. What if they hated her, or worse, thought she was a demon?

"Well, Sunnydale isn't really a safe place to be at night, so you should probably get home before dark."

"Oui, uh. Yes. Thank you." Dawn smiled politely and moved past the girl, as she walked, she remembered about Joe and put the phone back to her ear, "Sorry Joe. I had forgotten my purse, and a girl caught up with me to return it."

"_I had wondered if you had forgotten about me."_

"Hey, what it is with you people and questioning my memory today? First Duncan, and now you? Is this a conspiracy? I mean, I'm not _that_ old." Dawn asked with a pout that he couldn't see. She straddled her bike, "I'm going to have to let you go now though, Joe. I'll send you the manuscript later tonight, alright?"

"_Thank you, dear. There's no real rush though. I told them that it would most likely take you a good two weeks to finish the translation."_

"Bye Joe."

"_Goodnight, Marie."_

When Dawn got back to the small two bedroom apartment she had bought, she closed the door behind her and sunk to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and choked on a sob. "I don't think I can do this…"

"You're not the only one."

Dawn wiped a hand across her face, clearing it of tears. "B-buffy?"

"Poor little Dawnie, without a place to call her own. You shouldn't be here. We thought we had gotten rid of you _years_ ago."

Dawn's eyes narrowed and she stood shakily, "So, _you're_ The First? I had thought you would be scarier, you know, whole first Evil thing and all. You're not scary at all though. You're just annoying."

The First took a step forward and as it did so, its form shifted so that a mirror image of Dawn stood across from her, well, a mirror image of how she looked ten years previous. Dawn hadn't realized how much she had changed in looks. The girl in front of her was underweight, and her blue eyes looked too large on her pale, gaunt face. Her hair was a tangled mess of brown tied into a very messy braid, and her clothing was threadbare and worn, also completely colorless. She was also filthy. No wonder Duncan had been so cautious around her when he had first found her, she had looked horrible!

"They'll never trust you. You're dead." The First said.

"So are you." Dawn shot back.

"You think you can stop me. You don't stand a chance."

"I wasn't even going to try." Dawn replied honestly. "I wonder though, is this considered talking to myself, or does this not count because the _thing_ I'm talking to is nothing more than a poor copy of the original?"

"From beneath you it devours." The First said before vanishing in a flash of light.

Dawn stood in her living room for a long moment, though she would never admit how shaken she was from her meeting with Evil itself. Finally, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, "Spooky…"

* * *

Later that night, Dawn sat on her sleeping bag surrounded in candles. She hadn't had a chance to ether furnish the house, or hook up the electricity yet. She was still dressed, and her sword lay sheathed on the blanket before her crossed legs. She was debating the stupidity of going out hunting.

On one hand, she didn't really have to worry about dying, as demons rarely decapitated their enemies, in fact, she had never heard of them doing such a thing. Her main worry was that she would run into someone she knew. Sure, she knew it was inevitable that she run into someone, it was partially why she was here after all, but if she reacted anything like she had when she saw Xander earlier, she was sure it wouldn't go over well. That girl from earlier probably thought she was a complete spaz.

Would they even recognize her though? When The First had taken her form of how she had looked right before her first death, Dawn hadn't even recognized the person staring back at her. She looked nothing like that starving waif.

Dawn had cut her long hair off, and had it professionally curled so that now it went to just past her chest in modest ringlets. It was also now more of a light red brown instead of the dark brown of her earlier days due to the many hours she had spent in the sun the past few years. She had also gotten up to a healthy weight, and had finally grown into her curves. Added on to the fact that her eyes held none of the innocence of earlier days, and her fashion had changed considerably, she looked very little like the tiny fifteen year old that had run away thirteen years ago.

"Aw, hell with this."

She stood and attached her sheathed sword to her belt in one smooth movement. She then dug through her duffel bag that she had thrown carelessly onto the counter earlier to pull out her tan trench coat. She hadn't even worn her sword when she had gone for her walk a few hours previous, as on the off chance that she did come into contact with another immortal, she didn't want to risk being forced to take their head. A Dark Quickening was something Dawn wanted absolutely no part of.

Now however, she was heading straight for Holy Ground.

* * *

"Hello Mom." Dawn said softly. It had been unintentional, but apparently her feet had had a mind of their own, as within minutes of leaving her apartment, she had found herself standing in front of the grave she hadn't visited for a little over thirteen years.

"I'm sorry I have been gone for so long… It's been hard. I wanted to come back, I really did. Though, it seemed fate had other ideas. I'm here now though."

The gravestone was cracked down one side, and overgrown slightly, which caused Dawn to frown. There also were no flowers donning the ground, as if the grave had long since been forgotten like all of the other graves in Sunnydale.

"I have to go Mom. I'm restless. I've only been in town for half a day, but already the incessant buzzing is driving me insane. I knew it would be there, but I hadn't ever imagined it would be this bad. It's the Hellmouth, you see. It bewitches the senses. It's partially why Duncan, a good friend of mine, was so worried about me coming here."

"You see, people like me can sense when other people like me are near, but in Sunnydale, because of the constant buzz set off from the Hellmouth itself, I wouldn't be able to sense another like me unless they were within four feet of me. It's a little unnerving, in truth."

"You don't have to worry about me though; I have some good friends who take care of me."

"Who's there?"

Dawn crouched down low and reached for her sword, though she paused when it hit her where she had heard the voice before. She swallowed thickly and stood slowly with her arms out in front of her showing that she held no weapon. Out of all the Scoobies, Spike was one of the ones to most likely understand.

They had a friend in common, after all.

"Hello, Spike."

He walked towards her and as he did, his eyes widened before they narrowed into a fierce glare, "Get out of my sight."

"Not exactly the greeting I was hoping for." Dawn admitted wryly. "It's a start though. First off, I'm not The First, though I must say, its impersonation skills are phenomenal, if you're absolutely _blind_."

Spike swung a fist to make the incorporeal being disappear. He was insanely surprised when a second after swinging, his fist came into contact with her jaw and she flew back, toppling over a gravestone in the process.

Dawn cursed loudly in French, but switched to German a moment later when she ran out of swear words appropriate for the situation. She was on her back, which hurt like a bitch, and she was almost positive that her jaw was broken, which quite believably, also hurt like a bitch, even more so because she was moving it to curse. She lay still for a long moment until she felt the bones in her jaw fixing themselves. She pushed herself to a sitting position and winced as her back screamed in pain.

"Niblett?" Spike whispered wonderingly. He moved so that he was standing over her, though his eyes were still locked on the fist that had connected with her jaw.

"Mm, ouch." Dawn affirmed. She then swung her leg and knocked the vampire off his feet so that he was flat on his back across from her. She then sat up straighter and winced at the sticky sensation of blood running down her back. For crying out loud, this was the second shirt she had gone through today! She was going to need to hit the mall first thing in the morning.

"You hit me." She complained.

Spike was already back on his feet, though he was a couple paces away, as if afraid she would kick his feet out from under him again. "Niblett?" he repeated.

"Yeah, and ouch. Not exactly the welcome back to Sunnydale that I was expecting, but, okay, ouch. Maybe I deserved that. Ouch." Dawn put a hand to her back and pulled it back covered in blood, "You ruined my shirt." She accused sullenly.

Spike took a big whiff of the air and his eyes widened even further than they already were, "Dawn?"

"Miss me?"

"You're dead." Spike stated. He was staring at her as if she was going to disappear if he took his eyes off her for more than a second.

Dawn scoffed, "I'm a Summers. I got better."

"Buffy had help." Spike said softly. He just couldn't get his head around the fact that she sat there, right in front of him, after so long.

"I didn't need it." Dawn replied back, just as softly. "A friend of mine, Amanda, told me that you would understand."

Spike reared back as if he had been hit, "The thief?"

"She'll be thrilled to know she left such an impression on you. Actually, maybe I shouldn't tell her. She'd be _unbearable_." Dawn admitted. She grimaced slightly at the feeling of her skin knitting itself back together and stood up on slightly shaky legs. "Spike… I… I couldn't come back. I couldn't face Buffy. I still don't know—look. I'm trying here, it's just I—"

She was cut off as Spike engulfed her in a back breaking hug. "We thought you were dead. Thank god. You scared me half to death. Or more to death. Still—I could kill you!"

"Spike."

"I mean it. I could rip your head off one-handed and drink from your brain stem."

"Spike!" Dawn gasped, "I can't breath!"

Spike released her but kept his hands on her shoulders, tightly. "I'm so mad at you."

"I know." Dawn admitted. "I don't even blame you, I was childish, I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I just. Wow, this is so much harder than I thought it would be. Seriously, I thought I had gotten over the babbling thing, and then I come back to America, and it seems to be the only thing I can do."

"Immortal, eh?"

"For ten years, yeah." Dawn agreed. "Trust me; I was way more shocked than you. I had been on my way home when it happened. I had finally saved up enough money to make it home, and the bus crashed. Talk about irony. My teacher found me a month or so later, and I guess, it just seemed like a sign, you know? That I shouldn't come back. I mean, I was fine for nearly three years, and then I try and come home and this happened." She gestured to her lip that was no longer split, and her jaw that was no longer broken.

Dawn grimaced again when she felt her back, the wound was gone, but the blood hadn't dried, and wet blood always made her slightly uncomfortable. It reminded her too much of Sunnydale, and the darker aspects of the world. "We can talk more at my place, if you want. I want to change before the nightlife smells the all they can eat buffet that is me."

Spike nodded, and they began the walk back to Dawn's new apartment. Dawn didn't say anything about the fact that he had her arm in his icy grip the entire way home, and in return he didn't say anything about the fact that she was living in Sunnydale without any of them being the wiser.

"Spike, you may come in."

"Not smart, inviting a blood sucking fiend into your home." Spike commented as he stepped over the threshold.

"What can I say; I live life on the edge."

* * *

"So then Amanda said, 'he went that way, officer! Please, he had a sword! You have to stop him!' as if the officer couldn't see the poorly hidden statue stuffed down my shirt. I was mortified until I found out that the statue hadn't been our target at all. We had just needed to get arrested, because years ago, she had hidden a bag of diamond in the prison."

Spike snickered, "Sounds like Amanda. Hey, is she still datin' that annoying scott? The do-gooder? The Poufs role model in unlife?"

It was Dawn's turn to laugh, "Duncan is Angel's role model?"

"Yea, that's the boy-scout."

"Him and Amanda dated? Really? Wow, that makes so much more sense now." Dawn said thoughtfully. "And no, they hook up whenever they're in the same area, but it's not really what anyone would consider dating. By the way, that _boy scout_ is a good friend of mine. Not Angel though, I still really don't like him."

Dawn hadn't felt this at peace for a long time. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed her talks with Spike. She had always felt safe with him, even when he was evil. He was the only one who had ever treated her as her own person, instead of Buffy's bratty little sister who got kidnapped every other Tuesday. She shifted slightly and lit another candle to replace one that had burnt out in the eight hours that they had spent talking. If Dawn had to guess, she would say that it was around four in the morning.

"Oh shit." Dawn swore, "Spike hold on a moment!" She jumped off the counter and flung herself down the hallway to the biggest bedroom. She came back a minute later talking on her cell phone. "Duncan, I'm fine. This calling you thing isn't going to work out though. I mean, I haven't broken any of your rules. You told me to call you before I had gone to bed, and I haven't done that yet. I've been catching up with an old friend of mine. I think you may have met him before, goes by the name of Spike?"

"_You invited a vampire into your home? You haven't been there a whole day!"_

"He's a good vampire." Dawn insisted.

Spike looked affronted, "Take that back!"

"Okay, I retract good and offer up harmless as a puppy in reply." Dawn said to Spike before turning her attention back to her phone, "Okay, about the calling you thing, why don't I just call you when I get in for the night, and when I wake up the next morning?"

"_Fine, but I'm not happy about it."_

"I didn't ask you to be. Anyhow, I have to go; I was just about to tell Spike about my first meeting with my Watcher-man."

Duncan laughed, _"Be safe Marie."_

"You too, Duncan."

"Marie?" Spike asked once she had hung up. He had easily heard both sides of the conversation.

Dawn shrugged, "Dawn died ten years ago, and I'm not sure if my body was identified or not, as I was a little too spooked to stick around and find out. Duncan helped set me up with a new identity. So, yeah. The names Marie Winters, nice to meet you."

"Marie Winters…" Spike repeated. He shrugged and replied sarcastically, "Eh, it suits you."

"Sure thing. Randy Giles." Dawn replied with a smirk.

Dawn realized that she had said something wrong the second after the words had left her mouth. Spike's posture went ridged, and he exhaled deeply, even though he had no need for breathing. Dawn had no idea what could have happened for him to react like that. She didn't remember anything overly traumatizing from the memory incident, but then again, she hadn't exactly stuck around for the aftermath, she had run away that night.

_Oh. Damn._

"I'm sorry."

"Why did you go?" Spike demanded.

"I was stupid." Dawn replied. "I was hurting, and instead of things getting better, everything was getting steadily worse. So I took a note out of Buffy's book and I took off when I couldn't deal anymore."

Spike's skepticism showed on his face. "For thirteen years."

"You know why I stayed away. Buffy's a protector of Humans and puppies, and all that's good. I'm not in any of those categories."

"Don't give me that, Dawn. Buffy accepted Angel, and Anya, and me. You're her blood. She damn well would have accepted you too."

"Angel had his soul, Anya was reverted to a harmless human, and you couldn't hurt innocents even if you wanted to. I wasn't any of those things, I'm still not." Dawn argued back. "Besides, do you know how insanely dangerous it is for an immortal to be on the Hellmouth? If I'm challenged here, I'll be tainted by the Hellmouth energy, and that's not something a decade or two will be able to recover me from. That's if that incessant buzzing doesn't make me off myself before then!"

"You're her blood." Spike insisted petulantly.

"So was our _Father_, and you know what happened to him? I killed him. He's not the only one, ether. You told me once that you were a vampire and that made you know something about evil. You said I wasn't evil. Can you still say that to me with a straight face?"

Dawn still felt slightly bad about Hank. It had been shortly after Richie's death, and she had come across him in Spain with his new family by complete coincidence. She had been so furious that he had moved on, when he hadn't even cared that his first family had self destructed, that she had killed both him _and_ his new wife. She had become a headhunter shortly after that, and hadn't ended her spree until Duncan had caught up with her a year and a half later.

"You're not evil." Spike said convincingly. "If you were, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You would have stayed away from Sunnydale until long after the Slayer and pals were nothing but bleached bones."

"Okay, so I'm not evil." Dawn rolled her eyes, "I'm not good ether."

"Neither am I. Buffy likes me well enough though, besides, you're her lil sister. Do you have any idea what it did to her when you disappeared?"

Dawn frowned slightly and shook her head, "There really isn't anything I can do to make up for the past Spike. I know I was stupid, but what fifteen year old isn't?"

"Bit, it nearly _destroyed_ her. She left Sunnydale looking for you. There were missing posters everywhere. She never stopped looking, not till eight years ago, when The First showed up and took your form."

Dawn looked down and bit her lip, "Spike, I was afraid to ask, but what's happened since I left?"

Spike crossed his arms and made himself more comfortable on the window sill, "As I said, Big sis went lookin' for you. Busted the other Slayer, _Faith_ out of prison, so the Hellmouth wouldn't be unguarded. Faith died five years later when a bunch of wanna-be villains caused too much mayhem for them to control. She died in the aftermath, when they couldn't fix what they had done. Big sis came home till the next Slayer showed up, some spoiled bint named Kennedy. Before she could leave though, The First showed up."

"Buffy went looking for me?" Dawn asked in astonishment. "I—I had thought that she would have written me off, and forgotten about me. I mean, most of her memories of me were faked anyway. I didn't want to be her burden to bear anymore."

Dawn hugged her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees. She had never even imagined that they had been looking for her. Not that they would have had any luck finding her, as before she had even left Sunnydale, she had found a man who was willing to make her an amulet to make her immune to any form of scrying or finding spell. She still wore the amulet around her neck to this day.

"Of course she did." Spike said. "She died for you. Did that really mean so little to you?"

Dawn winced. Buffy's death was a bit of a sore point for her, mostly for the fact that it was the cause of almost all her problems. If it had been Dawn who jumped, her blood would have closed the portal, and the key would have ceased to be. Buffy never would have died, and Dawn would have never become immortal. Also, The First never would have gained a foothold in their reality.

Instead, martyr Buffy had saved the day. Possibly damning the world in the process.

"Of course it meant something to me. It meant that my sister was tired of the burden she had been forced to bear. She was tired of being the Slayer. I don't blame her. It had very little to do with me though. Buffy had been tired. She had been slowly self-destructing long before she had jumped."

Dawn sighed, "I love Buffy, which is one of the main reasons I stayed away after becoming immortal. Spike, she lives in deaths shadow. I'm never going to die. How is that fair?"

"Bit. Why did you come back?"

Dawn flinched visibly and pulled her knees tighter to her chest. Going into what Duncan exasperatedly called Ball-Marie. "There's something I need to do. Something that only I can do."

"Being?"

"Take back my birthright. I have to do a ritual to reclaim the power of the Key. Which shifted to Buffy when she jumped in my place, which never should have happened. The Key was never supposed to be in a body that could die. That's how the First got to this reality in the first place. When Buffy died, it was able to take her form and use the essence of the Key to bring its spirit to this reality. Because Willow brought Buffy back, the First wasn't able to finish its ritual and bring its body through as well. If Buffy dies again though, it will, and if it gets its body through, there is nothing in existence that can stop it from destroying the world. So you see why I need to transfer the Key back to myself? I can't die, so the power of the Key would be forever out of its reach."

"And then what?"

Dawn looked up from studying her fingernails, "Huh?"

"After you take back what's yours, what do you plan on doing?"

Dawn looked past him out the window. The sun was going to be rising any minute now, and the morning was already bright. Dawn thought hard about his question; what _did_ she plan on doing? The Scoobies would know she was alive, and Spike already knew about her new identity, but she couldn't stay on the Hellmouth. It was too risky.

"I'll leave." She said softly, "I can't stay here. I've been here less than a day and already the Hellmouth is driving me insane. I can feel it in the air. It's like a steady buzz that makes it hard to focus on anything for too long; like a migraine in the back of my mind that won't go away. Not to mention that it's incredibly risky for any immortal to be on the Hellmouth. Which sure, may mean that I'd never come across another immortal and be safe from the game, but there could be tons of other immortals that had the same thought and are hiding out somewhere in town, silently waiting. Though if they are, they're probably insane to boot."

"Paranoid Bit?"

Dawn found it odd how quickly he had fallen into calling her by his old nickname for her. Odd, and slightly heartwarming. He forgave her, even if he didn't agree with her. Honestly, she wasn't even looking for forgiveness. She had no right to seek out forgiveness when she didn't even forgive herself.

"It's not paranoia when they really are out to get you." Dawn replied easily. Charles had often said she was easily the most paranoid person he had ever met. Personally, it just made her want to introduce the lawyer to Methos. Her paranoia was _nothing_ compared to Death's.

"Made a few enemies?"

" I've come across three head hunters in the past _week_. I think they're bitter that I outdid them all so easily."

"You?" Spike asked skeptically. In his mind, she was still his innocent, harmless Niblett. Sure, she may be able to heal from nearly any wound within minutes, but still. He couldn't really see her outdoing _anyone_ when it came to fighting.

"I went off the deep end a couple years ago." Dawn admitted. "I killed every immortal I came into contact with. Many of whom were hundreds of years older than me. I was trained by one of the best, to be one of the best. It became my motto to never say no to a challenge, but with time, I wasn't just killing the immortals I happened to come across, I was actively seeking them out. Obviously, I haven't lost my head yet, so I must be doing something right."

Spike hissed suddenly and pulled away from the window he had been leaning against. "Got early fast."

"We've talked a lot." Dawn countered.

"Got a blanket?"

"Running out on me so soon?" Dawn asked.

"Was actually going to put it over the window. Seems you don't have any curtains, Bit."

"Heh. Oh yeah." Dawn replied sheepishly, "Actually, I do have curtains, I just haven't put them up yet. They're in the closet beside the door." She gestured with her head to the closet across the room.

Spike opened the closet and was buried in curtains a moment later. Dawn kept her face as straight as possible, though she couldn't help the twitching of her lips. It was just too funny.

Spike shot her a sullen glare as he carefully put up a curtain to block the light streaming into the kitchen. "Coulda been fried crispy like."

"Nah." Dawn scoffed.

Spike leaned back against the wall beside the window now that he wouldn't have to worry about being burned to a crisp by the morning rays. "When are you planning on letting big sis know you're alive?"

"In a couple of hours. I was planning on heading over to the house. I figured that there's really no point beating around the bush."

"She won't be home."

Dawn blinked, "Oh. Where'll she be?"

"The new high school. She's worked there as a councilor for the last five and a half years. The First has been pickin' off Potential Slayers for the last six years or so, so they've slowly been making their way to Sunnydale. Most of them attend the new Sunnydale High. Actually, most of them live in your old house."

"Interesting," Dawn murmured. "I guess it's time for me to get ready for school then. I just hope she doesn't send me flying as far as you did. Because seriously, just because I heal almost as fast as I take damage, doesn't mean that it hurts any less."

Spike shrugged unapologetically, "Thought you were the First."

"Gah. That thing's just creepy. It tried to psyche me out yesterday." Dawn shivered slightly. She changed the subject,"Anyhow, I want to get a couple hours of shut eye before the showdown."

"I'm not going anywhere." Spike said. He almost sounded defensive, but Dawn thought he was just afraid that he'd leave and she'd take off out of Sunnydale again.

"That's fine." Dawn said with a smile. She slipped off of the counter and stretched. Her muscles were tight from sitting still for so long. It probably didn't help that she hadn't slept in almost forty eight hours. She had never been able to sleep on plane rides, and she had been far too busy preparing for her trip before then to sleep.

"Dawn?"

Dawn almost continued walking before she remembered belatedly that he was talking to her. It would take her awhile before she would be able to answer to that name on instinct again. "Yeah Spike?"

"…Glad you're safe."

She beamed at him, "Think you can wake me up in three or four hours?"

"I think I can do that."

"Thanks Spike." Dawn murmured. She smiled at the lean form standing in her kitchen, "I'm glad that I came back. I had missed you." She smiled again and then disappeared into the bedroom she had claimed the night before.


	4. Highschool

Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Chapter Four.

'**I am Marie Winters, I was once a powerful entity known as the Key. Fifteen years ago on the Sunnydale Hellmouth I was placed into the body of an innocent teenage girl. I am Immortal and I am not alone. For centuries we have waited for the time of the Gathering, when the stroke of a sword and the fall of a head will release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one.'**

I had just turned nineteen when my training began to pick up. I asked Duncan to teach me everything he could. I told him that I didn't care how long it took, I had the time. Time was the only thing I _did_ have. The Highlander was more than understanding. He took me in off the streets, and brought me half way across the world, to Paris, of all places. He taught me not only the rules of the game, but everything he thought I would need to survive it.

I didn't understand then, why he cared enough to teach me. I didn't understand why he didn't just take my head and be done with it. After all; in the end, there can be only one.

That's our creed, isn't it?

"_Marie, you're dropping your shoulder."_

_Marie growled low in her throat and corrected her form, only to have her feet kicked out from underneath her a moment later. She felt the cool edge of her teacher's practice blade against her throat signaling the end of the fight._

_Duncan: Too high to count._

_Marie: Zero._

"_Again." He demanded._

_She sprung to her feet in an acrobatic move her sister had done in front of her many, many times, though her every muscle protested the movement. Her own practice blade was held securely in her sweaty palm and she danced the dance again, only to have her blade knocked out of her hand, and the familiar feeling of the cool blade against her throat a second later._

"_Forget everything you knew. You're not fighting demons. Strength doesn't matter here, Marie. Skill does."_

"_Right." Marie nodded curly at the mild reprimand and picked her sword up off the dojo floor. _

_In the beginning she had whined and complained. She hadn't understood; she had just wanted to go home. It wasn't until she saw Duncan challenged in his own home by a man two hundred years his senior, that she realized the implications of what had happened to her. They didn't care that she was the little sister of The Slayer. They didn't care that she didn't want to be a murderer. They didn't care._

_She was just an obstacle on their path to winning the game. That was when she started taking the game seriously. She didn't want to lose. She didn't want to be an obstacle in a game beyond her control; she wanted to be a player. She wanted to win._

"_Again."_

_Marie hefted her sword in an easy grip, and shifted her stance. It was time to be Marie Winters, Immortal. Dawn Summers, little sister to The Slayer, was dead._

_They clashed in the middle of the room, and Marie pressed him, looking for any advantage. She spotted it in his stance a second later, and dodged his blow expertly. She pulled in close to him and locked a leg around his ankle while simultaneously elbowing the wrist holding his sword, causing it to release to the floor. Her sword raised, she brought it to his neck, and couldn't help but smile._

_A second later, she was on the ground rubbing her head where he had head butted her._

"_Good, Marie. Very good. Again."_

_Marie nodded. She could do this._

* * *

"Bit."

Dawn shifted slightly in her sleeping bag, though she settled a moment later.

Spike took a step into the room and the floor creaked.

Dawn shot up and in unsheathed her sword in the same motion. She looked around with wide eyes, before her eyes locked on Spike. He was leaning against the wall with his hands up in a mockery of the known innocent gesture. His eyes betrayed him though, and Dawn could see that she had startled him.

"Nice reflexes." he commented idly.

Dawn sheathed the sword with a sigh. She had forgotten to tell him to be careful waking her up. She was even more paranoid when she slept than she was when she was awake. It hadn't helped that people had attempted to take her head while she slept more than once. When she was a headhunter, it had gotten so bad that she had only slept on Holy Ground. It had been nearly seven months since she stopped hunting, but the other immortals hadn't gotten the memo yet.

She felt entitled to a little paranoia.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly.

"All inked up?" He asked with a head gesture to her left upper arm.

Dawn glanced down at the tattoo she had gotten on her twenty fifth birthday. It had been her first birthday on her own since becoming immortal, and she had decided to treat herself. It was a Celtic knot that wrapped around her arm twice. It was small and classy, and pleased her to no end. "Not _all_ inked up, just that. It was my twenty fifth birthday present to myself."

"I let you sleep a bit longer."

Dawn smiled cheekily, "Went through all my stuff, didn't you."

Spike shrugged, "Nothing interesting."

"Couldn't figure out the security on my laptop, huh."

Spike shrugged again, though he looked slightly annoyed.

"Don't fret. It took me weeks to figure the thing out. But the Security was necessary, as I use it for work."

"What do you do? You never got into that."

"Stuff." Dawn said dryly. "I'll tell you later. I need to get going. I have to talk to Buffy, and then I have to get my electricity hooked up, and then I have to go shopping. You may have noticed, but I didn't really bring much with me."

"I did notice." Spike admitted. "Figured you weren't planning on staying."

Dawn smiled bitter sweetly. "I'm not. Now, get out so I can get changed."

Spike shrugged indifferently and moved out of the room.

Dawn pulled her non-work cell phone out from her duffel bag and sent Duncan a text.

"_Still alive, I'll call you tonight."_

* * *

Dawn felt small as the building loomed in front of her. It was more intimidating than the Wolfram and Hart office in Rome, which was full of _demons_. Of course, Dawn would take demons over high school students any day.

Her sword, under her tan trench coat, was more comforting than she would ever admit. She was extremely grateful that while her shirt had been destroyed by blood the night before, her trench coat had made it through the situation fine. She really needed to go shopping. She was wearing her last good clothing, and who knew if it would survive her encounter with Buffy.

She had forgotten how violent her family was.

"Oh, hey!"

Dawn swiveled around to come face to face with the redhead from the day before. "Oh, hello." She said happily. She loved distractions.

"Are you going to school here?"

Dawn winced. Sometimes it really sucked being stuck at age eighteen for all of eternity. Even if she managed to look closer to mid twenties with different makeup and fashion; it still sucked knowing she would always be mistaken for a high school student. "School? Me? Uhh, no. I'm here to talk with… with one of the staff."

The redhead looked her over, and Dawn resisted the urge to shift nervously under the examination. Instead, she took the time to look the redhead over. She noticed small things that she hadn't noticed the day before, such as the fact that the redhead had a stake up the sleeve of her sweater, and that she held herself gingerly, as if she was sore. The girl was no Slayer, that much was obvious just by her stance, but Dawn would bet her laptop that the girl was a potential.

"You're here to see Buffy." The girl said finally with a firm nod.

"Y—yeah." Dawn replied. "I'm—well, I need to see her."

"Come on. I'll show you to her office. You're not really in town to visit family, are you?"

"Uh, no. I mean, I am. Mostly?"

"I'm Vi." The redhead said suddenly.

"Marie." Dawn replied. She hesitated slightly, "Okay, sorry. No. My name's Dawn, but, please, call me Marie, or I'll probably just keep walking."

"I thought you were French?"

"Huh?" Dawn asked, "Oh, I am. Mostly, sort of? I grew up in Paris. I travel a lot though, and I've not been to the States for a good ten years or so. Languages are kind of my thing though, and sometimes, I mix them up. Sometimes I just like how a word sounds better in a different language though."

"Cool. I'm from England, myself."

"I like England." Dawn said brightly with a perfect English accent, "I lived there for a few months a couple of years ago. I really don't like to stay in any place very long though, it makes me… paranoid."

"I understand."

Dawn hummed non-committingly. She frowned and rubbed her head, the buzzing from the Hellmouth had risen to almost unbearable levels the further into the school she walked and it was making it incredibly hard to focus.

"…kay?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Vi repeated.

"Huh? Yeah. Headache." Dawn stopped walking just in time to avoid a collision with a black girl whose arm was in a cast. Dawn almost winced when she saw the girl's dreadlocked hair. There was no way that was healthy.

The girl stopped in front of Vi, "We're late for gym."

"Sorry, I was showing Marie to Buffy's office." Vi said. "Marie, this is Rona. Rona, this is Marie; she's _new_."

"Huh? Oh. Oh! Yo. I'm Rona."

"Pleasure." Dawn replied. Inwardly, she frowned; did they honestly think she was a Potential Slayer? She had forgotten how bad the Sunnydale crew was at keeping secret identities secret. It seemed as if the next generation was no better. Amanda would be so bored; there was no challenge in figuring these people out.

"Well, Marie, it was super nice meeting you. Buffy's office is through that hallway, the second door on the left. It has her name on it, so you can't miss it."

"Thank you, Vi. Rona. I suppose I might see you guys later." Dawn said politely as the two bundles of energy booked it down the hallway to avoid being late to their next class. Distraction gone, Dawn continued walking down the hallway as if she was walking to her death, which, could be true. She doubted her sister would decapitate her though, so she had high hopes that she'd make it out of this _mostly _intact.

Dawn stopped just in front of the door that read clearly, "Councilor, Buffy Summers."

Her heard was hammering in her chest so loudly that she was almost positive Buffy could hear her. She had never been so scared in her life. A cool hand landed on her shoulder and she spun around with a yelp.

"She doesn't bite, you know."

Dawn winced and pushed her panic down as far as she could. The man in front of her was dark skinned, and in a fancy suit. If she had to guess, she would say that he was the headmaster of the school. Or principal, perhaps? She forgot what the Americans called it. The reason for her jumping though was because of the faint buzz she could feel from him. He was a pre-immortal.

Her heart calmed slightly when she realized that he wasn't out to get her head, _yet_. She decided that she had to get off the Hellmouth as soon as she could though. She hadn't even been there a full day and she was already ready to start cutting off innocent bystanders heads.

"I'm aware. You could say that I'm a bit… nervous."

"You're not a student here."

"No." Dawn agreed, "I'm not even American."

Well, not anymore. Marie had been born in France.

"Oh. You're here to see Buffy for… other reasons then."

Dawn nodded. So he knew about the night life? Hmm…

"Yes. I'm not sure how to… talk to her." Dawn said carefully.

"She's not scary." The man said.

"Hah. You can say that with a straight face. _You're_ not her wayward little sister." Dawn said wryly.

"…Dawnie?"

Dawn flinched and turned very slowly with her hands raised non-threateningly, but all sense of reason left her when she actually saw her sister standing there before her after so long. It hit her then, just how much she had missed her only blood. "B-buffy?"

Without thought, Dawn flung herself at the blond and lost all sense of composure. "I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "I know I should have come back, but I couldn't, and I was afraid, but then, I thought you must have hated me, so…" Slowly her words became more and more hysterical till she wasn't even speaking in English anymore.

Buffy continued to stand in the hallway, completely stunned. Her arms wrapped automatically around the girl sobbing in her arms. Wood sent her a look and went back to his office.

"Dawn?" Buffy said again. She couldn't sense anything demon about the girl, and she was solid, so it wasn't The First, and she looked older. Could it really be?"

"I'm sorry." Dawn repeated.

"Dawnie?" Buffy whispered disbelievingly.

Dawn pulled away and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her coat, "Yeah. It's me."

"You're dead." Buffy said softly.

"So I've heard." Dawn replied, just as softly. "Spike nearly broke my jaw. Thought I was the First."

"You know about… wait, Spike knows you're alive?"

"I ran into him last night." Dawn assured, "I went to visit- I went to visit mom. He—we talked, a lot. He said you went looking for me."

Buffy pulled Dawn into her office and shut the door.

"Who are you?" Buffy demanded.

Dawn flinched slightly but kept her eyes locked on Buffy. This was going better than she had thought it would, but she could almost feel the Slayer in her sister. She had never been in tune with things like that before, but she had never had any reason to be. Buffy had never been a danger to her. She hadn't been a demon. Now though…

"My name is Dawn Marie Summers. I was created as your little sister by a bunch of monks when I was thirteen. When you found out I was created, you told me I wasn't your sister, and later I told you that it was you who wasn't _my_ sister, and that you were actually a howler monkey and mom just didn't have the heart to tell you. Ten years ago, I died."

Dawn paused and looked down for a moment in thought, "I woke up in a morgue, and found out that I'm what is known as an Immortal. I assume it has something to do with how I was created, but there are many others like me. We don't age after our first death, and we don't stay dead. Naturally, we are foundlings, and have no family, which makes life less painful because there are no family attachments. I wasn't created like the others; I have family. Family that—that's going to grow old and die, while I never will. So, I stayed gone. I was going to stay gone, but I had to come back."

Buffy sat down and gestured for Dawn to take the seat across from her. Dawn sat down slowly and continued her story, "I changed my name, after- after I died for the first time; and I moved to Paris with my teacher, who taught me all there was to know about life as—as an immortal."

Buffy continued to look at her as if she wasn't sure what she was.

Dawn looked down and hurried on, "So- so if you want me to go, I'm gone, and—and you'll never have to see me again. I had to come back to get something, and after- after, I can't stay. Because the Hellmouth is already driving me insane, and I've not even been here for a whole day. People—people like me, are more sensitive to things like the Hellmouth. It's like—like a screaming buzz in the back of my mind that makes it impossible to focus on anything. I'm babbling, sorry. This—this isn't how I was expecting this to go. I expected you to shout at me, possibly try and kill me thinking I was a demon… or—something. Buffy, please, say something!"

"Dawnie?"

"It's me. I'm still- I'm still Dawn."

Buffy stood from her chair and moved so that she was standing in front of Dawn. She dropped to her knees to that they were eye to eye. Her senses said that the girl in front of her was completely human. Nothing screamed out to her, except the obvious, her sister was _dead_. There was no way this could be real. "I don't believe you."

Dawn closed her eyes in an attempt to fight back tears. "How can I prove it to you? Do you want a blood test? A- a spell? I'm trying, Buffy. I didn't have to tell you I was here, but I did, because- because I shouldn't have left. I was a kid, a stupid kid. I had abandonment issues, so I took it into my hand, and decided that—that this time, it was my turn to abandon _you_."

"I was so stupid though, Buffy. I spent all the money I had saved up to get _away _from Sunnydale… and it had never occurred to me that no one would ever hire a—a kid. It took me three years to make enough money to come home, and then- and then the bus crashed, and my last thought was that I'd never get to say how sorry I was for leaving you. But—but I woke up, in the morgue, and then, I couldn't come home. I thought -I thought I was a demon. So—so when my teacher found me, I took the out he offered. I haven't been back to the states for ten years, because I was afraid."

"Willow." Buffy interrupted. "Willow will be able to tell. Perhaps, Tara, too."

"Okay." Dawn agreed quickly.

Buffy leaned forward slightly so that their foreheads were nearly touching. "I want to believe you."

"I know." Dawn said.

"I'll take the rest of the day off." Buffy offered. She stood up, and offered a hand to Dawn who took it without hesitation. Dawn could see Buffy's almost physical need to believe what she was saying, and Dawn pushed down the guilt that threatened to overwhelm her.

As she started walking out the door with Buffy behind her, her cell phone started to ring, though it was a quiet noise, signaling that it was her work phone. "Uh… I have to take this." She said apologetically to Buffy, who had tensed at the noise.

"Hello?"

"_Miss Winters, if I could have a moment of your time?"_

"Mr. Pierson." Dawn said respectfully. "I'm actually taking a bit of a vacation from work at the moment. If it's not life or death, can I call you back later?"

"_That's fine. Talk to you soon."_

"Have a nice day." Dawn replied as he hung up.

"Who was that?"

"Adam. He's… a friend of a friend. We've been working on something together for the last three months. He's an absolute genius with languages, but he came across something he had never seen, which I recognized as a demon dialect, so I've been helping him translate it."

Buffy made a noncommittal noise as they walked down the hallway. She stopped outside the main office, and the pre-immortal met her at the door. "I'm going to take the rest of the day off, if that's alright."

"Is everything okay?" He asked gently.

Dawn leaned against the wall to let them talk and took a moment to close her eyes and settle her thoughts. She hadn't meant to tell Buffy half of what she had. She just hadn't been able to help herself. It was as if coming back to Sunnydale had reverted her back to the smart-ass kid who had been all talk. The girl who always had her sister there to protect her. The girl who meant well, but was _stupid_.

So much for being grown up.

Dawn couldn't wait to get out of this town and back to her life, she really couldn't.

"Come on, let's go." Buffy demanded.

Dawn nodded and allowed herself to be steered out of the school, which was a good thing, as she didn't remember the way out on her own. "Are we going to walk? Where are we going, anyway? Do Willow and Tara still live at… at your house?"

"Yeah. They do. And no, we're driving."

Dawn stopped walking, "Oh, hell no. Sorry, I mean, I may not be able to stay dead, but that doesn't mean I want to try! I've seen you behind the wheel of a car. It was messy!"

Buffy's mouth twitched into a slight smile before going back to emotionless. "I've improved."

Dawn looked skeptical, but allowed herself to be led through the parking lot regardless. It's not like she would have the strength to pull away from Buffy even if she wanted to. "Buffy-"

"-No." Buffy cut her off. "Don't talk. If- If this is real, then we'll talk."

Dawn closed her mouth and allowed Buffy to push her into the passenger seat of the car. She shifted slightly so her sword was in a more comfortable position. Dawn held on to the door the entire trip, and when they got to the house, she threw the car door open and jumped out to the much safer, stable ground. "Oh, thank god. I thought you said you had improved!" She accused.

"I didn't crash." Buffy said calmly before she once again grabbed Dawn's arm.

"You know, if I was planning on taking off, I probably would have done it _before _talking to you. You can let go of my arm." Dawn said huffily. She wasn't used to being treated with such careless disregard. Buffy wasn't even looking at her.

"Willow!" Buffy shouted as soon as they crossed the threshold.

Dawn looked around wildly. It had been thirteen years, but besides some new furniture, everything looked much the same, if not a little more run down. Everything in this damn town seemed to have stayed the same. Even Buffy didn't look much different. Her hair was a little closer to a white blond, and she looked slightly older, but other than that, even her clothing hadn't changed much.

"Buffy, what's, oh my god!" Willow cut herself off as her eyes locked onto Dawn.

"Is it her?" Buffy demanded. "Tell me if it's her, and if it's not-" she trailed off threateningly.

"Dawnie?" Willow asked softly.

"It's me, Willow." Dawn replied firmly.

"Tara!" Willow shouted.

The gentle witch appeared from inside the kitchen, and her eyes went wide. Like Willow and Buffy, the blond hadn't changed much besides the fact that her hair was longer and more of a light brown then a blond. "You're alive…?" Tara whispered in awe.

"I am." Dawn replied.

"Is it her?" Buffy asked, pleadingly.

"It's her." Tara replied. She could tell just by looking at her that it was Dawn, though her aura was slightly different; as if something immense had happened. But it was Dawn. Dawn was alive.

Buffy pulled on the arm she still held and Dawn found herself in the petite Slayers tight grip. Unlike from earlier, this time it was Buffy who was holding on for dear life. "You're home… You're home now."

Dawn allowed her tense shoulders to relax for the first time since she had drove past the _Welcome to Sunnydale_ sign.

"I'm home." She agreed softly.

But was she really? Dawn had absolutely no intentions of staying in Sunnydale, in fact, she had a feeling that if she stayed for more than a month, this place would drive her insane. Besides, Europe was her home now, wasn't it?

Dawn didn't know.

What she did know, was that her sister's arms were wrapped around her, and she hoped that the older girl would never let go.

She could deal with everything else later.


	5. Scoobies

Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Chapter Five.

Xander almost moaned in pleasure when he took his first sip of coffee. He was sure that he looked horrible this morning as the night before he had pulled a double patrol with Molly to cover for Spike who hadn't showed up.

If Xander actually cared about Spike's welfare, he probably would have been worried. As it was though, he just vaguely hoped the Vampire was still around, because as he had gotten used to the snarky comments and stalker-ish habits, it would be strange to be without them. Also, having another super powered member on the White Hats team helped enormously—not that he would ever admit such a thing to the Vampire. Ever.

Xander rubbed his eyes tiredly and bit back a yawn. He had already called in to work and told them that he wouldn't be able to come in for the day. Thankfully, his boss knew about Xander's double life; Molly had saved his life a few years prior, so the man was very understanding. Even helpful, when he could be.

Molly, the current vampire slayer, sat down across from him and laid her head on the table, "Never movin again." She mumbled into the table.

It had been a bad night; the Ubervamp's had swarmed them just outside their post by the High school. The three potentials on their squad had done remarkably well, especially considering that they had no advanced strength. Unfortunately, Vi had been thrown across the field, and while nothing was broken she would be sore for a good while, Xander had tried to convince her to stay home from school today—it hadn't worked. The girl was determined to never miss a day of school unless she was in the hospital.

Leah, and Candice, however, had stayed home from school, claiming to be too tired. "How's your back?"

"Mm. Better. Still sore though." Molly murmured tiredly.

"You took some pretty hard hits last night. Are you planning on going to class today?"

"Yeah." Molly replied, "Professor Stevenson's giving a lecture on modern art, but it's not till four."

Molly was twenty one years old and had been a Slayer for five years. In the beginning, Xander hadn't thought that the kind, passive girl would last long as a Slayer. Kennedy had only lasted three and a half years, and she had been trained from birth, where's Molly had only been found as a potential two years before she was called.

She had surprised them all.

"Are Candy and Leah up yet?" Xander asked idly.

"Cand, is." Molly replied, her head still on the table. "Leah's still out like a light though. Girl needs to set her priorities straight; she's burnin 'erself out."

Xander agreed with a small nod. His girls, for that's what they were, had been living with their lives on the line for so long, very few of them actually prioritized schooling or friends as important. Not anymore. He wished with everything in him that they could live their lives like the teenagers that they wanted to be, instead of the warriors they were being forced to be.

A faint ringing started up from in the living room, and a moment later, the sound of the television faded. "Xander!" Candice cried out, "Phone!"

"Duty calls." Xander said ironically. He stood and limped to the living room, his ankle was wrapped tightly, and the swelling had gone down, so he was sure it wasn't broken. He hoped.

Sometimes he really wished he healed as fast as Buffy and Molly. Even the potentials healed faster than him. It sucked being the only normal one around.

"Yeal'lo." He asked. He gave a nod to the fifteen year old blonde teen, and gestured for her to go back to her cartoons.

"_X-xander? It—it's me. Willow."_

Xander frowned. Willow hadn't stuttered since high school. "Will, what's wrong?"

Molly appeared in the door way, all signs of tiredness gone, and Candice muted the television.

"_It—it's not bad. It's—r-really good actually."_

Xander's frown deepened, "Will, are—are you crying?"

"_Dawn's alive."_

Xander's jaw dropped, and he felt his eyes widen, "Y-you're sure? It's not – It's not just a new scheme of The First? You're sure?"

"_We're sure. Tara knew right- right away. But- but I did a spell to confirm, and—and a blood test. It's her. Xander, it's her. She's alive. Dawnie's alive!"_

"I'm on my way."

"Who is Dawn?" Molly asked after the phone was placed safely back on its cradle.

Xander wasn't surprised that she had heard both sides of the conversation, even though she was across the room. She was a Slayer after all. "Dawn- Dawn is—" His voice broke as he realized just what he had been told. Dawn was alive. Alive! After thirteen years.

"Xander?" Candice asked carefully with wide eyes, "Are you okay?"

Xander ignored Candice's heartfelt question for the time being and faced the mantle of the fireplace in the corner of his living room. It had a picture of the Scooby's before they had graduated from High school. Oz, Cordelia, Him, Willow, Giles, Buffy, and in the slayers arms, her tiny innocent little sister. The purest of them all. Dawn.

"Dawn was- is, Buffy's little sister. She—she disappeared thirteen years ago. When The First appeared for the first time, it took her form almost immediately. That's when Buffy came back to Sunnydale to stay. We all assumed she was dead, but—but apparently, she's alive. She's at Central right now."

Central was code for Buffy's place. It was called Central because that's where the majority of the action took place. It was also where the majority of the Potentials lived.

Molly looked at Candice and then back at Xander. "Go, I'll stay with the mini's."

Xander nodded once and then he was out of the room.

* * *

Dawn whistled slightly as Buffy led her upstairs. The first floor of the house may not have looked any different, but the second floor looked _nothing_ like how it used to.

"Impressive, isn't it." Buffy said appreciatively.

"I'd say." Dawn gave a second whistle, "How does this work?"

Buffy shrugged, "I'm not magic girl."

The second floor was around eight times the size it should have been. There were twenty doors along the too long hallway instead of just the five that there used to be. Five of the doors were painted a pale blue, and the rest were all white and had two metal name plates on each, except for one door at the end that had one name plate, and the door across from it that was blank.

"The blue doors lead to recreation rooms, and each bedroom has an en suite bathroom." Buffy commented as they walked down the long hallway.

"Huh." Dawn murmured, "I have got to find out how they did this. The energy it must have taken alone- It's unimaginable. We'll I suppose not _unimaginable_, the Hellmouth quadruples the effects of even the smallest of spells after all. It's part of the reason that the Hellmouth is so dangerous; even those who elsewhere wouldn't have the magic abilities to float a _pencil_, can summon demons, control the elements, practically anything, really. I'm actually a little curious to see how much of Willow and Tara's powers are their own, and how much of it is just being amplified by the Hellmouth Energy."

Buffy sent her a look but didn't say anything. After a few more moments of walking Dawn speculated, "I'm guessing that this is Potential central?"

"How do you know so much about what's going on?" Buffy asked as she led Dawn down the hallway. Her voice was tinted with suspicion, even though she tried to hide it.

"Funny story, that." Dawn replied, "I was minding my own business, working on a translation, when this short guy appeared in the middle of my living room. He startled me so much that I threw my book at him. Turns out he's some sort of Balance Demon, named-"

"Whistler." Buffy hissed. "I hate that guy!"

"Me too!" Dawn agreed, "He was all; it's your sacred duty. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. You need to go back. The end is nigh, blah, blah, blah. I really didn't like him." She said all of this with a Bronx accent.

Buffy stopped at the end of the hallway and pushed open the unmarked door. Dawn's eyes widened, it was her room exactly as she had left it thirteen years ago. The walls were pale purple to match the bedcovers, and there were pictures of her and the Scoobies, along with pictures of her and her old best friend Janice. Dawn walked into the room hesitantly, and it felt like she was walking into the past except for the fact that the room now smelt more of Buffy than of her.

"You- you kept it all?"

"I couldn't get rid of it." Buffy admitted as she sat down on the bed.

Dawn sat across from her so that they were both sitting crossed legged facing one another. Dawn really _looked_ at her sister for the first time that day. Buffy really did look much the same, except for a few age lines around her mouth, and a slight sickly pallor to her skin. She also had a very faint scar going across her cheek that wasn't there before. In all, Buffy looked to be in her mid twenties instead of mid thirties. She looked good.

"You have questions about… about things I've told you today?"

Buffy nodded, "Actually, I didn't get much from your conversation earlier. I didn't say anything, but you weren't speaking in English for most of it."

Dawn blinked, "Really? I hadn't noticed. If—if I do it again, just tell me. Sometimes I don't notice."

"You're good with languages, then?" Buffy pressed.

"Yeah. You could say that. I found out when I was around twenty two that if I looked at a language for any length of time, I was able to understand it. Some languages take more work than others, but most of them come to me as easy as English. My teacher theorizes that it has something to do with how I was created,"

"You told your… teacher?"

"He knows everything. He's immortal, like me, but he's been immortal for around four hundred years now. He's a great guy- actually, I hadn't realized it before, but since it was pointed out to me, I can't help but notice the similarities. He's like a less broody version of Angel, without the darker half. His friend Adam calls him the 'Boy-scout.' Basically, he's the kind of guy you want on your side. I was lucky he came across me, instead of someone else."

Dawn looked away from Buffy to take in her room again. It awed her how many memories this place brought up, even if personally, she hated the color purple now-a-days. Dawn forced her mind back on tract. "How about we play twenty questions?"

Buffy looked slightly relieved, "Deal."

Dawn had imagined anger, yelling, and violence, in her little family reunion. She had never imagined this awkward silence of two complete strangers not knowing what to say to one another. For most people, thirteen years was a lot of time, but Dawn was getting used to the fact that in the eyes of an immortal, a hundred years went by very quickly. Ten years was nothing.

"You start." Dawn decided.

"Why did you leave?" Buffy asked instantly.

"I was stupid and scared… and I felt like I was only a burden for everyone else. You had so much to deal with already; I didn't want you to have to deal with me on top of that." Dawn pointed to the jewelry box on top of the dresser, "Before I left… I had been stealing, from nearly every shop in town, the magic box included. I don't know why I did it, but I think I was hoping to get caught, because then, at least someone would pay attention to me."

Buffy looked as if she had swallowed something sour and her eyes darkened slightly with self recrimination. She grabbed Dawns hand and intertwined their fingers, "I'm sorry, Dawnie…"

"It was a long time ago, Buffy. It's okay now." Dawn replied, just as softly. She perked up slightly, "So, how did you become a councilor at a high school? Did you ever finish your schooling?"

"That's two questions, but I'll answer anyhow. The first day the high school opened, Kennedy, the Slayer after Faith died, called me and said that there were ghosts in the school. She was in grade nine at the time, and apparently, the ghosts had pulled her and two other students into the basement. She got locked in the boiler room, and called me on her cell phone so I could come help her out. I ended up destroying the talisman that had summoned the ghosts and got Kennedy and the two kids out of the boiler room."

Buffy shook her head ruefully, "When we got back upstairs, Principal Wood saw us all. He saw the two teens give both me and Kennedy a hug, and then he saw the three of them wonder off down the hallway. He approached me, and somehow had it in his head that I was Kennedy's mother, but said that he was impressed on how I had gotten two social outcasts to not only make friends, but look happy. So, he gave me a job."

"Just like that?" Dawn asked skeptically. Inwardly she was wincing at bits of the story. When Spike had mentioned a slayer coming to replace Faith, Dawn had imagined someone older, but if she had only been in grade nine, the girl would have only been thirteen or fourteen when she was called. That just… wasn't right. Buffy had been fifteen when she was called and she had barely been able to handle the stress of it. How was someone even _younger_ supposed to deal?

"Well, I had thought so, in the beginning, but three years later, Kennedy was killed during the school day when a demon had tried to open the Hellmouth while school was still in session. Around twenty students were killed, though it would have been more, possibly all of them, without Kennedy's interference. Principal Wood called me during the battle, and told me to bring back up. It had been my day off."

"So he knew about the supernatural, and knew about your place in it? And that's why he hired you?"

"Yeah. But he kept me on because I'm good at it. But anyway, back to Wood. He's actually the son of Nikki Wood, one of the Slayers before me."

"No he's not." Dawn replied with a slight shake of her head, though she didn't elaborate any further.

"and no. I never finished my schooling." Buffy finished. She took this time to ask her next question, "Where have you been the last thirteen years, and what have you been doing?"

"Million dollar question…" Dawn murmured. "For the first three years away from Sunnydale, I was in Washington. After that- after I died and woke up, I was found by the man that became my teacher. He brought me to Paris; because I was afraid you would find me and think I was a demon that needed to be slayed. I stayed there for five years learning from Duncan—my teacher. I left shortly before what would have been my twenty fifth birthday, and I've been traveling the world since."

"When I was twenty two, I discovered my talent with languages, and set myself up as a prodigy linguist. I actually have quite the reputation, and make a pretty decent wage. It's mostly freelance; people call me when they need something translated, I take a look at it, decide how much it'll cost them for me to translate, and go from there."

That wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth. Dawn wasn't sure if Buffy was ready to know just what being immortal entailed. She had just gotten her sister back; she wanted to bask in her presence for at least a week before she was kicked out and told never to return.

* * *

"Yes?" Duncan asked into his cell phone.

"_Mac, it's Joe."_

"Joe? What's the problem?" Duncan asked immediately. Joe sounded incredibly worried about something.

"_Amanda was here. She was edgy, and said she needed to be somewhere. She wasn't herself, Mac."_

"Amanda was there? Last I heard she was in Canada." Duncan said. "Did she say where she was going?"

"_Yes. Some place called Sunnydale."_

Duncan almost dropped his phone, "I'll be on the next flight out."

"_Macleod, what's going on?"_

"I don't know." Duncan admitted, "But something is not right. Amanda and I talked yesterday, and we agreed that it was best if we stayed far away from Sunnydale unless we were forced. So ether something happened to Marie or something is happening to Amanda. Neither option is something I want to think about."

* * *

Xander didn't bother to knock, he just let himself in. Straight away, he found himself in Willow's arms. "Willow, where—where is she?"

"Buffy and- Dawn, are—are upstairs. It's amazing Xander, she's here, and she's alive. She looks really good too. Almost—almost too good. Too young. I didn't want to pry though, so—so she and Buffy are talking." Willow babbled happily.

Xander smiled and tightened his hold on Willow briefly before letting go. The two friends walked to the kitchen, and Xander smiled at Tara and the uber-mini's Mia, Yuna, Ashley, Gwendolyn, Sandra and Felicia. They were called uber-mini's because they were all under the age of ten. Mia and Gwen were seven, Ashley was nine, Yuna was five, Sandra was eight, and Felicia was six. Their watchers had shipped them to Sunnydale when The First had destroyed the Council three years previous.

It was a Pro-D day at the Elementary School.

"Hey kiddo-s." He greeted.

"Xander!" all but Mia cried out happily. Mia just nodded in his direction- she hadn't spoken since her watcher had been murdered in front of her.

Ashley, possibly the most cheerful child he had ever met, threw herself off her chair and tackled him into a hug. Xander went with the motion and spun the young girl around causing her to laugh happily.

Tara smiled and went back to making lunch for the thirteen people currently in the house. The six uber-mini's, a mini who was home sick, Willow, Buffy, Herself, Dawn, and now Xander. "Sandra? Would you please go get Kara?"

Sandra nodded, causing her brown pig-tails to bob up and down. "Kay!"

Xander sat down at the table and looked at Willow who was standing with her arms wrapped around Tara. "How is she?"

Willow pulled away from Tara and took the chair Sandra had just vacated, "She's good. Healthy, and- she looks happy and- and strong. She's confident in a way she never was before. She's all grown up, and we weren't there to see any of it—but—but maybe, maybe it's a good thing. She looks happy, and she got to grow up away from the Hellmouth."

"So it's a good thing she ran away?" Xander asked skeptically.

"No- no. That's not what I mean. Maybe?" Willow stuttered. She continued hesitantly, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words, "It was horrible for—for us when Dawn ran away. But—but we only ever really thought about how it affected _us_. Our only thought was to find her- and bring her home. B-but what if it wasn't bad for her? What if running away from here, gave her a chance at life that none of us ever got? We always assumed that—that she needed our help, and that she just wanted us to find her, so that we could rescue her and bring her home- and then The First took her form, and we realized that we had failed her."

Willow paused and then lumbered on, "What if- what if she never wanted us to find her. What if she didn't _need_ us to rescue her, because by getting away from the Hellmouth, she had rescued herself?"

Xander wasn't sure what to say to that.

Sandra and the thirteen year old potential Kara walked into the kitchen. Kara looked terrible, her face was gaunt and sickly, and her eyes were red and glassy with fever. She swayed slightly and the little girl beside her steadied her.

Tara looked over her shoulder. "Kara honey? How are you feeling?"

"Not so good." The potential admitted. She sniffled slightly and sat down at the table.

Xander was about to comment when Buffy entered the kitchen followed sedately by someone he hadn't thought he would ever see again. _Dawn_.

"Dawnster?" He asked, half afraid she would vanish if he so much as blinked.

"Hello Xander." Dawn replied softly. She walked further into the kitchen and her eyes swept over the six uber-mini's, the sick mini, and the four Scoobies. She then discreetly scanned the room for all exits and visible weapons before letting the tension in her shoulders relax.

Xander noticed her paranoia, but didn't call her on it. Instead he stood and approached her hesitantly. She was shorter than him, but not by much, meaning she was taller than Buffy, Willow and Tara. Willow was right; she did look good, though she was also right about her age. Dawn didn't look twenty eight. She didn't even look like she was in her twenties.

Dawn stopped walking just before him, and he pulled her to him. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!" He said reverently into her hair. "Never again. Okay?"

"I'll try." Dawn murmured as her arms wrapped around him tightly.

* * *

Dawn felt more overwhelmed today than she had since Richie had died, and that had made her into a head hunter for nearly two years. Though after her breakdown at the school, she had managed to stay mostly calm and composed. She kept reminding herself that these were her family, and if they wanted nothing to do with her, she would do the ritual and go back home. Seeing them though, made the thought of them rejecting her hurt all the more. She didn't want them to hate her.

Dawn breathed in the scent that was so uniquely Xander. "I'm sorry for not letting you guys know that I'm okay." She apologized.

Xander pulled away but kept his hands on her shoulders, "You're here now. That's all that matters."

Dawn smiled, but it held a bitter edge to it, she waited till he was sat at the table and cleared her throat to speak to the room at large, "I can't stay."

Buffy's fists clenched slightly, while Willow and Xander cried out. Tara just waited patiently for Dawn to explain. The kids looked back and forth between the adults, before Kara lifted up her plate and led the younger children into the living room.

Dawn watched them go until they were out of her sight, she then sighed and started her story, "Ten years ago, I found out that the bus I had been on had been hit by a semi-truck. No one survived."

Tara let out a horrified gasp and gripped Willow's hand under the table.

"That was my First Death. I am what is known as an _Immortal_. I don't know how or why, but I can only guess it has something to do with how I was created. I am not alone. There is an entire race of people like me. We are Human, but after we die our first death, we never age, and we heal in seconds." To prove her point, Dawn grabbed a knife off the counter and swiped it across her hand. She held the hand out in front of her and watched blue sparks dance across the skin, knitting her palm back together. There was no scar.

Xander leaned forward slightly to see better.

"Unfortunately, Immortals are incredibly sensitive to certain energies. The Hellmouth is one of those. I can't stay here, because the Hellmouth is _screaming_ in my head. Also- if another Immortal attacks me here, things could get very bad, very quickly."

"Wait, another immortal? Why would they attack you?" Buffy asked. When they had talked earlier, Dawn hadn't gone into the subject of her immortality. She had said that she only wanted to go over it once.

Dawn winced at the question; she had hoped they wouldn't pick up on that. This was it. This was the moment she had been dreading, the moment of truth. Dawn readied herself to get out of the house as soon as possible if this went south.

"Since the beginning of time, Immortals have played _The Game_. There are only three rules. No fighting on Holy Ground. No interrupting an ongoing challenge. And… the most important rule of all… There can be only one."

"What- what is The Game?" Tara asked hesitantly.

Dawn looked down and spoke softly, "We fight each other to the Death. The battle ends when one immortal takes the head of the other, in the process, they gain all of that immortals knowledge, power, and possessions. The goal of the game is for us to continue taking each others heads until there is only one left. The last Immortal left gets the Prize."

Dawn started pacing the room, eleven steps forward and eleven steps back. "_No one_ knows what the Prize is. Some say that it's invulnerability and absolute power. Some say it's the ability to pro-create. Some say it's the ability to finally die and go to heaven, while others say its mortality. No one knows, but the time of the Gathering is near."

Everyone in the kitchen was looking at her with an almost horrified fascination.

"There are those that distance themselves from The Game. People who hide on Holy Ground and people who just run away from challenges and live their lives in fear of having their head taken. I decided early on that I couldn't hide. It's not in my blood to hide from a problem and hope it goes away. I don't like the fact that I have to kill people, it makes me feel sick to my stomach- but the thought of being killed; having my head taken, is even worse. When your head is taken, your essence, your soul, is absorbed by the immortal who took your head, or if your head was taken by a mortal, it'll go to the nearest immortal. It means that in a way, they become you. Your personality fades, but you're still there. Your life is theirs. Your memories are theirs. You _are_ theirs."

"Immortals don't get to die- they just- they—we get taken over."

Buffy closed her eyes as if in pain. While Willow went over some other things that Dawn had said, "You can't have children?"

Dawn shrugged lightly and shook her head, "No. No immortal can. We are infertile."

"Oh Dawnie…" Willow murmured sorrowfully.

"So you see Buffy? Why I didn't come home? You're a Slayer, and I'm—I'm a monster. I may be Human, but- but-"

Buffy stood and walked so that she was standing in front of Dawn; she raised her hand and a second later a loud clap noise resonated across the kitchen. Dawn raised a hand to her face at the stinging sensation and looked at Buffy who had tears in her eyes. Buffy started speaking in a harsh, but passionate whisper, "You are _not_ a monster. You didn't choose to be Immortal. And you certainly didn't make up that—that _game_. You do what you have to do to survive. The Immortals you fight, they're playing the _game_ too—they know the risks."

"Buffy—I'm as bad as any Vampire. They kill to survive too."

"_They_ don't have souls. They don't feel guilty for their actions." Buffy argued. "Just the fact that you feel guilty for what you have to do proves that you're not a monster. You're just a girl who was put into a situation you have no control over."

Buffy could relate.

A/N: Okay, I have a plot and everything worked out for this fic, but it may be slow coming with the updates. I've had a lot of inspiration for other projects lately. Please, tell me what you think about this fic, and my writing style. It's been... _a while _since I wrote anything, and I fear my writing has suffered because of my hiatus. Thank you, and I hope you readers have enjoyed what I've written so far.


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